Workers in Flintshire are £57 a week worse off

FULL-TIME workers in Flintshire are £57 a week worse off than they were in 2007, according to new figures.

Statistics released by the Trade Union Congress reveal wages in the county have dropped by 12.2 per cent in real terms over the last six years.

It is the biggest drop anywhere in Wales and the ninth highest in the UK.

The average hourly pay for Flintshire employees has fallen from £11.75 in 2007 to £10.31. That means workers are taking home £57.49 less in the average 40-hour-per-week pay packet, after taking inflation into account.

The figure is well above the 7.3 per cent average fall for Wales as a whole, and dwarfs the 6.3 per cent average wage drop reported in the UK as a whole.

“Many employers are finding it difficult to offer competitive salary increases and the UK Treasury needs to have a serious rethink about measures it could use to stimulate the market and give companies the opportunity to offer people a fair wage.”

After taking inflation into account, weekly pay packets in Wales have fallen by an average of £32.36 since 2007.

Next door Wrexham has seen a five per cent drop in the six year period since the economic downturn, resulting in workers pocketing an average of £21.96 less from a 40-hour working week.

Delyn MP David Hanson said: “I am extremely concerned to learn the average worker has a £57.49 real terms drop in their pay packet each week.

“We need more active growth in the economy. The drop in wages not only affects families but local businesses dependent on expenditure.”

Alyn and Deeside MP Mark Tami said: “People have been coming to my surgeries telling me how difficult things are so I am not surprised by the figures.

“Living standards continue to drop and people are stretched to the limit.

“The retail sector is still suffering and has not yet picked up sufficiently in Flintshire.”

Average hourly wages in the UK have fallen by 5.5 per cent since mid-2010.